Cleveland's state-run lakefront parks received a modest makeover this past week, just in time for the Fourth of July holiday.

But the state, politicians and the park users have a lot more to do to preserve and exploit these assets.

First, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the parks, needs to stay on top of basic maintenance. The department proved this week it knows how. A team of workers wielding weed cutters like hockey sticks felled tree-size weeds. Workers picked up trash and cleaned and groomed beaches.

Euclid Beach, one of several beaches I picked on in my June 19 column detailing the lakefront's sloppy condition, showed the greatest improvement. Islands of weeds around the parking lot were replaced with flowers and trimmed bushes. Mulch now decorates tree bases, and pressure-treated wood boards stretch across once-rotted benches. Light bulbs fill lampposts and the park's large bathroom, which had been shuttered after being vandalized, was open and working.

All of these improvements, referred to by ODNR as "first-impression" items -- made the park look quite inviting.

Cleveland's lakefront parks, which include Edgewater, E.55th, Gordon, Euclid Beach, and Wildwood/Villa Angela, are like neglected homes. They can't be saved with new landscaping and fresh paint.

Take the lakefront parks' roughly 50 bathrooms, the object of endless complaints. Their fixtures strain to produce water and break down frequently. Here's why: Major improvements have been put off for so long that the state has trouble finding parts to fix old toilets and sinks.

This is no way to run a park.

As I pointed out in a second column on the subject on June 24, the lakefront parks' police and maintenance departments are seriously understaffed – which has allowed unruly and messy park users to go unchallenged. Less visible problems are growing, including deteriorating plumbing, sewer and marina infrastructure.

Several top ODNR officials came from Columbus Thursday to show me some of the recent improvements. They acknowledged the lax maintenance and offered reasonable explanations, including retirements, vacant positions and flat funding that left them behind. They said the recent makeover was in the works for a while.

They also emphasized that the state remains committed to caring for the lakefront parks as long as the state is charged with maintaining them. Collectively, the lakefront parks -- including Headlands beach in Mentor -- see more visitors each year than any Ohio state park.

The state's elected leaders, not ODNR officials, have shown an unwillingness to spend money on upgrades. The parks, however, could benefit from new legislation that allows royalties generated from drilling in state forests to be spent on state park improvements and maintenance.

Joshua Gunter, The Plain DealerTrash overflows from trash cans at Villa/Angela Wildwood in Cleveland. Euclid Beach, Edgewater Park, and Villa/Angela Wildwood Park, the three state-run lakefront parks are in a state of disrepair.

The state is at a critical juncture. It either has to find the money to fix our parks right or it should abandon the management of them. This is at the heart of the debate going on right now.

Cash-strapped Cleveland turned over the management of the parks to the state in 1978. Its current agreement with the state runs to 2028. The state has also been cash-strapped and spends about $2 million a year to provide basic upkeep at the parks.

Behind the scenes, the Cleveland Metroparks, which manages our regional park system, continues to eye the lakefront as the perfect complement to its chain of parks. It's been studying the cost of rebuilding the lakefront parks and recently won state legislation that will allow it to ask voters for more tax money in 2013.

Currently, the Metroparks' 1.85-mill tax costs the owner of a $100,000 house about $60 a year and provides about 60 percent of the Metroparks budget. The new legislation allows the park system to seek voter approval for up to a 3-mill tax.

Without the potential for additional tax dollars, the Metroparks cannot dream about growing its park system. The once cash-rich organization expects to have about $60,000 on hand at the end of the current year, down from more than $8 million the previous year.

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ODNR officials told me they are open to striking an arrangement with the Metroparks.

The biggest hurdle is who will pay for rebuilding the infrastructure. The Metroparks would likely need up to $20 million to catch up on deferred improvements. Gov. John Kasich has said the state is no position to pony up money for this or any other expenditure. As I've noted before, the state would save more than that in operating costs by unloading the lakefront parks.

Ken Silliman, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's chief of staff, says the city supports any arrangement that "will result in the better maintenance of the parks."

In the meantime, the public can and must keep pressure on state and local leaders by documenting slack maintenance and other problems. One way is to let me know how often you see problems such as overflowing trash cans, non-working bathrooms and badly behaving park patrons who go unchecked. Post comments on Twitter using the hash tag and name "#savelakefront." We will track these posts and follow up with officials and with more stories.

Also, visit cleveland.com/lakefront for instructions on how to upload photos and short videos of what you notice. Please note the date and location.

Finally, you should invite Gov. Kasich to enjoy a day at our beaches. He can make the biggest difference in the lakefront's future. He should see its beauty up close, the recent improvement his workers have made and the many challenges that remain.

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